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The Most Important Traffic Source That EVERYBODY Forgets

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traffic source buzzIf you’re reading this, then you want traffic.

Lots of it, from all possible sources.

And if you’re reading this, you’re probably more than eager to learn about a traffic source that you may not have considered before.

Well, I’ve got one for you.

It’s the oldest source in the book, and I’m pretty sure you haven’t thought about it in a long time – if ever!

But it works. Always did, and always will.

Are you ready for the secret?

Traffic Sources vs. Traffic Mechanisms

You’re probably expecting me to say something like “Facebook” or “Twitter” or “Social Media” or “SEO copywriting” or something, right?

Well, those aren’t traffic sources, they’re just mechanisms of traffic delivery.

There are only three sources of traffic: people, and computers, and computers pretending to be people.

  • Traffic from People is any time that somebody arrives at your site because somebody else told them that they should. It doesn’t matter if that message was delivered via Twitter, Facebook, email, a link on somebody else’s blog, or whatever. The recommendation came from a person.
  • Traffic from Computers is any time that somebody arrives at your site because a computer told them that they should. In other words, they did a search, and Google’s algorithms said that “this is the best match for what you’re looking for”.
  • Traffic from Computers Pretending to be People is when the recommendation came from a computer, but the computer was programmed to make it look as if it really came from a person. Auto-tweeting is an example of this. So is comment spam on a blog. Get the idea?

So forget about all the different mechanisms for a moment, and think about the traffic sources. Do you want to guess which is the best?

The Best Source of Traffic is People!

That’s right – it’s people.

We trust people a lot more than we trust computers, especially if they’re people that we have an affinity with.

That could mean that they’re a close friend that knows your taste, or it could mean that they’re a blogger that you follow because they consistently teach you new things.

Either way, you trust them.

More than you trust a computer.

And waaaaay more than you trust a computer that is pretending to be a person.

So the question is, how do you get more traffic from people?

The answer, again, isn’t Twitter, Facebook, or whatever. That’s just different places that they might do the talking.

But how do you get them talking to begin with?

The Answer is Buzz

You get people talking by giving them something that they want to talk about.

Not by jumping up and down, waving your hands, and saying “look at me!” while pointing to your latest generic blog post.

No – you have to understand what people are naturally inclined to talk about and create that content.

And what are people naturally inclined to talk about?

Mark Hughes calls them the “Six Buttons of Buzz” in his book Buzzmarketing, which was recommended to me by Derek Halpern, the conversion genius who blogs at Social Triggers.

Here are the six triggers:

  1. The taboo
  2. The unusual
  3. The outrageous
  4. The hilarious
  5. The remarkable
  6. The secrets

Show me a campaign that was super-successful or a post that “randomly” went viral, and I’ll show you at least one button of buzz that was pushed.

Example: Penelope Trunk Calling Bullshit on Steve Roy

Steve Roy from EndingTheGrind started blogging about a year ago about how he hates his job and wants to start making an income online, so he can quit and spend more time with his daughters.

He’s written lots of blog posts, invited guests to post on the site, and become a part of an extended community of bloggers.

He also runs a regular podcast interview series and the latest interview subject was Penelope Trunk.

Now, this could have been another interview that adds content and value to his audience, but doesn’t spark much discussion or engagement.

I don’t mean that as a criticism; we see the same thing with our expert interviews at Firepole Marketing, and we’ve had some really amazing people on. It’s just a lot of content, and even when traffic is good, people don’t usually engage all that much.

But rather than answer the usual questions about blogging and the blogger’s lifestyle, Penelope quickly turned the interview on Steve, called him out on a whole bunch of things, and basically tore him a new one.

Steve, after taking Penelope’s advice to heart, posted the interview, un-edited.

And that got people talking.

Whereas most of his interviews get under 10 comments, this one already has over 150.

That’s buzz.

Where does buzz happen?

Buzz starts in the mind of one person and then happens between them and their networks.

It may happen through Twitter, or Facebook, or blogs, or email, but that’s just the mechanism.

Do mechanisms matter?

Yes, they do – they can have a multiplying effect, which is why you want your content to be easy to share.

But if you’re multiplying zero, then it doesn’t matter what you’re multiplying it by – you still get zero.

So think about buzz.

Danny Iny

Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the “Freddy Krueger of Blogging”, and the co-author (with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, and many others) of Engagement from Scratch! (available on Amazon, or as a free download). The latest and greatest thing you can get from him (for free, of course) is his Naked Marketing Manifesto, about marketing that really works!

73 Comments (click here to leave a comment)

  1. Danny, I appreciate articles on blog traffic that get back to first principles. There are so many ways to spend (and waste) your time trying to direct traffic to your site. A reductionist analysis boils it down and let’s you ask, “Is what I’m doing consistent with a rational scheme or am I just tweaking?” Penelope’s somewhat “tough love” message hit me squarely in the face (thanks to Steve for taking the punch publicly). You have to work toward a business plan. You need a visible location, customers and something in inventory to sell. Miss any component and it’s not a business, whether it’s online or brick and mortar.

  3. I was initially writing what I like on my blog. Its only later I realized that I must write what people want to read. This change in strategy has paid results.

  4. I have to admit, I hadn’t heard of the Beat The Grind podcast until about a week ago, and now that’s got to be the tenth time I’ve heard about it since then, so you’re right, the buzz works.

    Thanks for the great info, I’m going to work on those triggers.

    Colin

    • Yup, the buzz works. 🙂

      If you’ve got a post that uses the triggers that you’d like feedback on, shoot me an email and let me know! 🙂

  5. Nicely done Danny.

    I have see it so many times on so many blogs. It always works, especially with controversial posts. Ad I think its because, usually controversial topics steer strong emotion in people, so they are more likely to get involved and also get other’s involved in it as well.

    Great post Danny.

  6. Thank you Danny for the great tips on creating Buzz. I just started a new blog and am hoping I can put some of your advice to the test and create some traffic for my new website.

  7. Buzz the word, you said Ana,
    Bullshit the word Penelope said to Steve,
    Both will definitely get you traffic!
    Bye for now Ana, be reading your next post.

  8. Social interaction, self branding and turning readers into friends and customers is what it’s all about.

    Thanks for the advice on how to create a BUZZ. I’ve been looking at my blog and trying to determine why one post will get very few comments and shares, and another gets significantly more. Now I know.

    Thanks for sharing this valuable info.

  9. I agree, has to be something out of the ordinary to get someones attention. yea good post, just got me thinking on how I can attract more traffic from referalls

    Thanks man

  12. This is a great way of explaining what the focus should be on. I never thought about boiling down the market methods to these three sources of traffic, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the link to the interview. You really piqued my interest about it.

  15. Hi Danny…Mindblowing post as you are true concern to the most important source of traffic i.e. PEOPLE which is allmost forgotten as all are buzy with MECHANISMS only.

    Thanks a lot for bringing this to OUR notice.

  16. Hi Danny,

    I love the way you separated the traffic sources from the traffic mechanisms. I’ve never thought of those like that. And you are so spot on on auto-tweeting vs real people recommending a site. I find that I click more on a tweet that contains a personalized note from the person tweeting it than a generic tweet that appears like the person did not actually read the article.

    Great and unique point of view about the way we look at traffic sources 🙂

  17. Danny,
    I enjoyed reading your blog entry. Your six tips are spot on. In fact, recently I started blogging. I now have about a two month love/hate relationship with the blogging beast. One of my most frequented entries thus far is very short in nature compared to some of the more informational/educational ones. The post keens on the tip you listed fourth. Humor, appealing to peoples senses is a sure fire way to generate interaction or in this case human traffic. The post depicts a picture of a basketball player. Basketball players are generally tall. The picture shows him having to get on his knees just to get a drink of water from a fountain. Many people of average size would never even think about a difficulty such as this but when your near 7 foot tall it sure puts a twist on things. Thanks for sharing.

  18. Yes, exactly. And that isn’t going to change, either - people are people, and that’s one of the few constants that we can really count on in life. 🙂

  19. Danny, you really hit the nail on the head and that is why I shall be coming back for more if you keep on posting other great posts like this one.
    I totally like this.
    Thank you

  20. Danny,

    Your list of “6 triggers” is great to keep in mind!

    When I look at my articles, the ones that receive the most search traffic are usually controversial or contrarian in nature. It has got me thinking, why settle for just ordinary content? I’m going to filter my ideas thru this list more often and hopefully generate topics that get some buzz.

    Keep giving us tips!

    - Bruce

  21. My opinion on this, like Ana would say is this:

    I learnt a lot especially about the ‘six buttons of buzz’:

    1. The taboo.
    2. The unusual.
    3. The outrageous.
    4. The hilarious.
    5. The remarkable.
    6. The secrets.

    I think weaving my content around these buttons of buzz and also concentrating on Ana’s ‘202 bite-sized tips to insanely increase your blog traffic’ should go a long way in upgrading my traffic source - not neglecting the fact that I have to go out there to interact with my fans who I particularly call friends and my followers on Twitter too (I have no substitute name for that..hehe).

    Danny, this is awesome.

    Regards,
    Chukwuka.

  22. Great reminder Danny! I recently went to a event on how to attract media attention in a bold and daring fashion. [Some of the suggestions and use of wording were a little to daring and ‘out there’ for me - but hey, it created buzz for people who used them].

    I received Ana’s email yesterday and listened to Steve’s interview. OMGosh, brutal in every sense of the word, yet some very points were mentioned. One of my mentors often says: “After a breakdown, comes the breakthrough. The bigger the breakdown, the bigger the breakthrough.”

    I kinda think Steve had some pretty powerful ‘aha’ moments, and will probably continue to do so for some time.

    • That’s a great point - often, we’re “daring” and “out there” just for the sake of getting attention. That doesn’t always work all that well - there needs to be substance behind the flash, too - and you don’t have to be offensive or abrasive to get attention - it’s just the cheapest way to do it…

      And you’re right, Annemarie, breakdowns can lead to breakthroughs, but only if the person who is going through it all is paying attention and open to learning - as Steve is. That’s something that we could all learn from. 🙂

  23. Hey Freddie, I mean Danny 😉 good to see you here.

    A good reminder that our readers are people and even if they don’t stop and say Hi, they still stop, read and share. sometimes they need leading into action and it’s hitting the right things at the right times to get them to take action. My personal blog is written for 14 friends who read by email, the idea was that it would be easier for me to write a post and share it with them rather than write very similar things 14 different times. I now have just 300 subscribers on that blog, and it freaked me, 286 of them were strangers. Where did they come from?!

    Tell me, if I get a post with all 6 of your buzz things in, does it tand a better chance of hitting jackpot? 😉

    • Hey Sarah, what’s up? 🙂

      That’s a great example, Sarah, and it’s a really good illustration of how people really connect with people. They’re there because they’re enjoying your story.

      And that’s a great question. Yes, if you hit multiple “buttons of buzz”, it’s great, but only if it makes sense; don’t do it at the expense of effectively hitting just one.

      Does that make sense?

  24. Traffic from social media is awesome to promote your product but the best way is to optimize your site for some keywords to get more traffic and enlist your site in organic searches.

    • Hi Azhar, I think you might be missing the point. What you’re describing isn’t a source or type of traffic - they’re just mechanisms. Who are the people that you ultimately want to reach? Where do they hang out? Those are the questions that you should be asking.

  26. Well said, Danny. Far too often, our obsession to get traffic makes us forget about the people behind the traffic. That is what ultimately matters the most as you said.

    -Jean

  27. Awesome post Danny. I think someone really needed to say this because all too often we get caught up in the number and forget what the heck our purpose is out here. It isn’t to interact with computers - it’s to interact with people.

    • Thanks for your comment, Danielle. Yeah, that’s what I was thinking - I do consulting sessions all the time with clients, and they’re all about more and more numbers. I’ve got to push them a step back and ask “who are these people?” 😉

  28. Hey Danny,

    I believe that this post is very important, because most people I talk to tend to think of traffic as just numbers. They don’t look behind the numbers and see who actually visited their sites, and if it was a real person and what did person actually did on their site. And, a lot of people (probably the same people) don’t write for people, but for search engines. They’re happy as long as they rank well within Google. Now, with Google going social, things are changing (once again). So, focusing on people is becoming even more important than before. It’s getting harder gaming the system.

    I’ve been following Steve a while, and the interview with him (or rather his interview with Penelope was awesome) and I understand why it created such a buzz. It turned out to become something unexpected and what happened was something we can all relate to and learn from. Steve’s blog is plain awesome, but he’s not blogging just because he loves blogging, he wants to quit his job, so he has a specific goal. And when nothing is happening in order for him to reach that goal, well, then Penelope did what she had to do. And it looks like Steve is having a wonderful time with the buzz that’s happening 🙂

    • Hey Jens, thank you for your comment. You’re absolutely right - too many people get lost in the trap of thinking it’s all just numbers - anonymous, and dis-individuated.

      I actually hadn’t been exposed to Steve’s work prior to the interview, which I read about on Marcus Sheridan’s blog. His work does seem to be great, but it’s the honesty and transparency of that interview that really hooked me.

      I guess it’s true - people connect with people. 🙂

  29. Hey Danny,

    Thanks for using me for your example. I’ve gotten more interaction from this post than from any other BY FAR! It wasn’t intended that way nor did I think it would get as much attention, but I’m thankful for it all.

    It’s really so true, people connect with people. If we can really do that on a deeper level, I think that’s a step in the right direction.

    • You’ve very welcome, Steve, it’s a great example, and really illustrates the point very well. 🙂

      And yeah, people connect with people - like us on the phone! 😉

  31. Some good advice, Danny.

    Real traffic, as in interested visitors, is much better than automated traffic.
    Automated traffic may up a few website or blog stats, though, it is far less helpful in establishing a Blog(Website).

    As to the Buzz factor, I think that’s where the expression ” The post went viral” came from.

    • Yup, that is where the expression came from. And yeah, what’s the point of spiking analytics software if it doesn’t turn into business? 😉

  32. Network Marketing 101, yo! Breck taught us this in that famous “I told two friends, and they told two friends and so on, and so on…”

    Danny, the world belongs to people like you, who can strip the barnacles off the boat so the rest of us can see how the darned thing floats.

    So many times, we confuse the product with the process.

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    • Thanks, Mitch, that’s very kind of you to say. Yes, this is exactly what it’s about - the fundamentals of getting people to want to tell their friends about you. 🙂

      Have a great weekend, man!

  33. Agree!! We must write something that people must like not the one the we like. The success of a blog is not based on us along but also to the people that contributes to the discussion. 🙂

    Interesting one Sir Dan

  34. This is a superb reminder of where traffic actually comes from,

    puts me a little in mind of the tipping point book,

    nice post,
    thanks Danny,
    Alan

      • No probs,

        (though to be honest I found the book a bit dry - as a concept, brilliant but he didn’t need 259 pages to explain it all).

        It would be like you making this very brief clip (and thanks for keeping it brief) into a 90 minute webinar.

        Actually… lol

        • Well, I’d go into a lot more detail and give more examples and tactics in a webinar… kind of like he did in the book… 😉

  35. Soylent Green is also people. (sorry couldn’t resist)

    Seriously though,

    I agree wholeheartedly. Steve’s example is the perfect example of buzz. He had the guts to post something that was fairly un-flattering and people respected this. Hence seeing links to his article all over the place. YOu can’t ask for more buzz than that.

    If his articles had all been, “look at me, look at how great I am” they would have generated zero buzz and gone no where. But he took a chance, and showed the truth…warts and all. I can’t think of a better way to get buzz…. and respect.

    • Yes, exactly. Ultimately, it’s admirable behavior, and we respect the guts that it takes to put yourself out there like that.

      Not to mention that it’s a good story, too! 😉

  36. Fancy seeing you here Danny :).

    That interview with Penelope on Steve’s site was BRUTAL. And honest and awesome all at the same time. Kudos to Steve for posting it (I wonder if he knew it would get such a huge reaction - he had to have 🙂 ).

    • Yeah, it was brutal - my stomach was in knots listening to it. And yeah, it took guts - but it was the smart thing to do, which he probably suspected. 🙂

  38. I have seen that when I call a call a friend, talk to them about generic stuff and then request them to introduce my blog on their facebook wall, it works brilliantly! Again its not the facebook, but the human element of making that call which counted.

    I agree that maintaining offline avenues for businesses are very important. Right now all my activities are centered on Internet based activities, but I am planning to divest into offline avenues sooner.

    • It’s all about striking a balance, and what exactly the right balance is for your business depends on who your customers are, and what will make them feel the most comfortable. Kudos to you for paying attention to that.

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